[nhblond]

Hi everyone!

I recently posted threads about taking both my horses off grain. I have been interested in finding out more about "ration balancer pellets" that keep getting mentioned on here. Haven't been able to find anyone mentioning specific names or brands, so I did an internet search. The one that I found that should be available in my area is called "MVP" and is made by Poulin grain. Has anybody on here heard of it or used it? I currently am feeding beet pulp, a vit/min supplement, and am just starting rice bran oil. Do you still add the vit/min supplement to the ration balancer, or does it have all the stuff in it? They both get free choice hay in addition to what I mentioned above. I don't know why I am feeling guilty about taking them off grain. I guess I just don't want to feel like I am depriving them of anything they need. In general I do feel it's better for them to be off the grain.

[dklarson]

No, you don't need to add the vit/min supplement to the ration balancer. Ration balancers contain protein/vitamins/minerals which help make up for prot/vit/min deficiencies in hay & other forages.

Purina Mills makes a ration balancer that is available pretty much everywhere. On the Purina site it lists 10 dealers in NH.

Good luck!

[JBandRio]

Triple Crown, Buckeye, TDI, as well as quite a few other companies. However, you still sort of need to know what you're already feeding, as the "ration balancing" they do is based against an "average" diet, and your horse's diet might not be average.

[Dawn]

Purina's is called Born to Win.

And has been stated, you don't need the vit/min with it.

[imacowgirl2]

I use Progressive Nutrition's diet balancer...you can google Progressive Nutrition horse feed and find their website

[Sue B]

I checked out the Pulin for someone once....it seemed very well formulated and similar or better than other raction balancers that I have looked into.

Horses don't really need grain...they just need good nutirition. They were not evolved eating grain....they spend most of their time eating a variety of sparce forages...with access to lush medows during foaling...and after a couple of months....are back off tothe sparcer vegitation. But, they also have access to minerals, seeds, bark/wood, and lots of other things in the wild....but not generally grains. The problem is that we have genetically altered evey grain that we use to be more productive than it should be. So, while seeds in the wild are similar to grains...they are very different in what they offer when compared to modern grains and even grasses. By altering grains and grasses, we created products that stand up to drought and various other issues by being loaded with sugars and starches...so that they can quickly reproduce and grow rapidly to ensure a crop even in the event of unreliable weather.

[Quick2Skip01]

The last barn that I worked @ fed ration balancer to a couple of their horses, but these two horses got - 1 scp strategy, 1 cup of ration balancer, whatever was in they're smartpaks, cocosoya, and strongid... I personally have not used ration balancer. Sorry Im not much help.